St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1887-03-12
TALMAGES SERMON.
4 Telling Discourse on the "Swell-
J ing Of Jordan"
How Those Who viii MA Find Means to
Resist the Flood Tides Of Tempta-
ton and Their Consequences
Early Promises Unfulfilled.


taking for his text:
II thou hast run with the footmen and they
have wearied thee then how canst thou con-
tend with horses? And if in the land of peace
wherein thou trustedst, they wcarled thee, then
how will thou do in the swelling OF Jordan?-
Jeremiah xii, 5.
Jeremiah had become impatient with
his troubles. God says to him:
If you can not stand these small trials
and prosecutions, what are you going to
do when the greater trials and persecu-
tons Gomez If you have been running a
race with footmen and they have beaten
you, what chance is there that you will
outrun hor8cS:'
And then the figure is changed. You
know, in April and May the Jordan over
flows its banks, and the waters rush
violently on, sweeping every thing efore
their. And God says to the prophet:
If you are overcome with smaller
trials and veXations, which have assault
ed you, what will you do when the trials
and annoyances and prosecutions of life
come in u frcShetW
# in the land of peace, wherein thou trust
sadst, they Wcaricd thee, then how will thou DO
in the swelling of Jordan?
now DO WITHOUT CHRIST?
propose, if God will help me, IN very
practical way to ask-if it is such diff
cult thing to get along without the relig-
ION Of Jesus Christ, when things are COM
paratiyeiy smooth, what will we do with
out Christ amid the overpowering misfort-
ures and disasters Of life that may come
upon US? If troubles, slow as footmen,
rsurpass us, what will we do when they
take the feet Of horsess and if now in our
lifetime we are beaten back and sub
merged Of sorrows because we have not
the religion of Jesus to comfort US, what
will VIC do when we stand in death, and
we feel all around about us ''the swell
ing Of Jordan?" The fact that you
have como here, my brother, my
sister, shows that you have some things
you believe in common with myself. You
believe that there is God. There is not
an Atheist in all this house. l do not be-
lieye there ever was real Atheist in all
The world Napoleon was on ships
deck bound for Egypt. 1t was bright
starry night, and as he paced the deck,
thinking of the great affairs of the state
and of battle, he heard two men on deck
in conversation about God; one saying
there was q God and the other saying
there was none. Napoleon stopped and
he turned to these men in conversation,
and said:
Gentlemen. 1 heard one of you say
there is no God; if there is no God, will
YOU please to tell me who made all that!"
Aye, if you had not been persuaded of
it before. you are persuaded of 1t now;
for the shining heavens declare the glory
of God, and the earth shows his handi-
work.
But you believe more than that; you
believe that there was Jesus; you be-
lieve that there was a cross; you believe
that you have an immortal soul; you be-
lieye that it must be regenerated by the
spirit of God, or you can never dwell in
bliss eternal think that great many
Of you will say that you believe it is i'm
portant to have the religion of Jesus
Christ every day of our life, to smooth our
:empers and purify our minds, and hold
US imperturbable amid all the annoyance
and vexations of life. You and 1 have
seen so many men trampled down by mis-
fortunes because they had no faith in
Jesus, and you say to yourself:
If they were so easily overcome by the
trials of life, what will it be when greater
come upon them-heart-
breaking calamities, tremendous grlefs?'
s.Oh, if we have no God to comfort US
when our fortune goes, and we look upon
the grave Of our children, and our houses
are desolate, what will become of us?
What sad thing it is to see men all an
helped of God, going out to fight giants of
trouble; no closet Of prayer in which to
retreat, no promise of mercy to soothe
the soul, no rock of refuge in which to
hide from the blast. Oh, when the swift
coursers of trouble are brought up, champ
ing and painting for the race, and the reins
are thrown upon their Iecks, and the lath-
cred tanks at every spIing feel the stroke
of the lash, what can We do on foot with
hema If. having run with the footmen,
they wearied US, how cal we contend with
horses2
We have all yielded to temptation. We
have been surprised afterward that 80
small an inducement could have decoyed
us from the right How insignificant
a temptation has sometimes captured
our soull AND. if this is SO,
my dear brother what will it be
when we come to stand in the presence of
temptation that FRUSTRATED David, and
Moses. and Peter, and some of the
mightiest men in all Gods kingdom! Now
we are honest; but suppose we were
placed in some path of life, as many of
Gods children have been, where all the
forces Of earth and hell combine to capt
ure the soul! Without Jesus we would go
down under it. If already we have been
beaten by insignificant footmen, we would
be distanced 10000 leagues by the horses.
All, don't like to hear man say:
II could not commit such sin as that
can't understand how man could be-
carried away like that"
You don't know what you could do if
the grace Of God lets you. You know
what John Bunyan said when he saw
man staggering along the street, thor
ougly i'm bruted in his habits. He said:
There goes John Bunyan, but for the
grace Of God!'
| can say when see one utterly fallen:
There goes De Witt Talmage, but for
the grace Of Godr'
If we have been delivered from tempta-